Interesting podcast detailing Sprint’s 3-year journey to improving customer experience. Agent metrics, FCR, procedures and training discussed in this Customer Management IQ podcast, “Behind Sprint’s Overhauled Customer Experience Program.”
For more information on Jacada’s products and services that address agent metrics, FCR and training, click here.
This has nothing to do with call centers but I thought I would have fun and post some trivia gathered from around the internet...According to Wikipedia, the fear of Friday the 13th is called Paraskevidekatriaphobia, a concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (meaning "thirteen") attached to phobía (from phóbos meaning "fear").
And now amaze your friends and coworkers with a little bit of trivia:
1. According to Smithsonian Magazine “fear of the #13 costs American a billion dollars per year in absenteeism, train and plane cancellations, and reduced commerce on the 13th of the month.”
2. Fear of Friday the 13th dates back to Nordic Mythology. Many of their thirteenth Gods met with violent deaths, such as Loki, the trickster.
3. Ancient Romans regarded the number 13 as a symbol of death, destruction and misfortune.
4. Lizzy Borden uttered a total of 13 words at her trial.
5. A witches coven consists of 13 members.
6. Tarot Card number 13 is the Death Card, depicting the Grim Reaper (although it is read as transition or change and not literal death).
7. Hotels rarely have a room number 13. Usually it is called 12a or 14. Same with floors of high rise buildings. Many elevators are without a #13 button. Highways sometimes will skip exit 13 altogether also.
8. There are 13 steps leading to the gallows.
9. There are 13 knots in a hangman’s noose.
10. The blade of a guillotine falls 13 feet.
The right way to communicate with customers is constantly evolving as communications options and consumer expectations change.Having a complete 360-degree view of your customer is more important than ever. Knowing your customers’ preferences gives you the tools to develop very targeted and personalized communications. Read more of this article by Mary Cook here.
Click here to read how Jacada helped E.ON with their own 360-degree view of the customer.
That's according to a new American Express Global Customer Service Barometer. Seven in ten Americans (70%) are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service.
According to an article by Brendan Read on TMCnet.com, many companies are not getting the math. The study said that 60% of Americans believe businesses have not increased their customer service focus, up from 55% in 2010. Among this group, 26% think companies are actually paying less attention to service.
Other stats include: Some 59% of Americans would try a new brand or company for a better service experience. Customers who have a fantastic service experience say friendly representatives (65%) who are ultimately able to solve their concerns (66%) are the most influential.
Needless to say, good customer service makes a difference! Jacada can help improve your bottom line by streamlining and unifying the agent's desktop. Automated sign-on and notes, knowledgebase integration, broadcast messaging, quick links, single view of the customer and a unification of multiple applications are just a few of the ways Jacada WorkSpace Unified Desktop can help your company. Contact us for a demo today or click here for more information.
Do customers have the most problems with people or processes in contact centers?
Four out of five of the 770 million complaints were about processes customers experienced. Only 20% of customers complained about the people who helped them.
This research (from Customer Contact News) is a good reminder to regularly review the processes customers experience with your contact center. Ask agents for suggestions on how to eliminate one step or combine several. A streamlined process will boost employee and customer satisfaction. Jacada WorkSpace is an award-winning unified desktop that will streamline processes and optimize efficiency. Contact us today for more details and learn how your contact center can benefit!
Patterns are everywhere. You see them in the weather, nature, mathematics, art and science. And in call centers too (of course). Info will be accumulated and analyzed daily, weekly and monthly and virtually all contact centers capture such data as AHT, FCR and call volumes. These patterns or models for services could be exploited systematically to invest in new or improved services. Many design patterns for customer service experiences are abstract qualitative depictions that create positive outcomes for customers. So, by looking at the info gathered over time, the call center can begin to see customer and call trends.
Instead of thinking about the total call time as “average handle time,” let’s call it Average Interaction Time, or AIT. The formula for AIT can be defined this way:
AIT = Average Process Time + Average Nurture Time + Average Wrap Up Time
Average Process Time is the time it actually takes for the CSR to navigate systems, find data, update information, calculate payments, research a knowledgebase, etc. Average Nurture Time is the time the CSR actually spends understanding what the customer really needs, recommending additional services, building a relationship, being empathetic – whatever is needed to improve satisfaction and retention.
By reducing Average Process Time and, in many cases, automating or eliminating Wrap Up Time, the CSR has more time to Nurture, yielding happier customers and greater opportunity for the contact center to add value in terms of revenueand customer retention. And, by the way, training costs are greatly reduced. The CSRs are happier, so they stay longer and deliver better customer service. Give AIT a look and then look at your CSRs’ desktops to see if Jacada can help. Observe the complexity they’re forced to deal with on every call. By reducing desktop complexity you can give your CSRs the time they need to deliver real value to your business.
No doubt about it, companies know issue resolution is important— The Customer Contact Council estimates improving issue resolution can save millions of dollars each year and mitigate customer disloyalty by at least 219%. But recent conversations with several companies suggest that when it comes to identifying first contact resolution (FCR) improvement opportunities, many companies are headed down the wrong path.
Is your company on the right road?
Check out this article and find out. If you need help, contact Jacada for more information and let us walk you through our solutions.
In a recent survey, nearly 70% of customer service organizations report they’ve invested in a knowledgebase for their contact center, but that same percentage report that the knowledge base does not contain the information necessary for agents to solve customer issues. For companies with more than 10,000 employees, 43% report that information that contact center agents need to access to resolve customer issues resides in more than 20 systems.
Other stats include:
These stats point to the need for a unified desktop or process optimization solution that streamlines the multiple applications a customer service rep needs. Making a few changes can lead to effective agents and satisfied customers. Check out Jacada's unified desktop solution - Jacada WorkSpace integrates across multiple channels of communication and allows your CSRs to concentrate on the customer interaction rather than the navigation of the contact center desktop applications and complicated systems.
Much has been written about how agents communicate with customers over the phone and how the social customer is changing the game in terms of customer engagement.
But before we even begin to engage the customer, the agent must listen, process, and react (or not react at all) to the customer's pain or issue. As a customer, how many times have you thought, or even said, "you are not listening to my problem or issue." To address these matters, let's break down the art of listening into its two most basic forms: active and passive...
Read the rest of the article here (written by Brian Jameson and posted on Customer Management IQ). Also, check out this Jacada webcast focused on how social meda and location-based services have changed the rules of customer engagement. As always, you can find many other resources and articles at Jacada.com too.
I found this article on CRMsearch.com (How Call Centers Benefit from CRM Software) and it gives a good general overview of why a unified desktop system is needed by call centers. One concept discussed is that by tracking customer information, companies can better understand the habits of their customers as well as predict future behaviors. This is very important in customer service and can be a 'difference maker' for most companies. Having the ability to anticipate a customer's wants and needs (as well as resolve any issues quickly and effectively) is the reason customers stay with a company for years and years. With the advent of social media, bad customer service spreads fast.
Check out the entire article here and for more information about Jacada's desktop and process optimization products and how they can help your company, take a tour here.
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